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January 2009

30 January 2009

Sometimes we get so used to seeing our own work that it's refreshing (and inspiring) to see what other designers are up to. The other day I sent a link to Vanessa to show her some great invitations I saw on Brooklyn Bride... and she said she had just left a comment on the very same post seconds earlier! Great minds think alike...

A friend of the bride and groom, Tim O'Donnell, designed the invitation suite (although I can't seem to find a website for him or portfolio of his work). Vanessa and I were both attracted to the combination of the blind letterpress pattern with the bold orange and black type.

Check out more photos from this beautiful (and colorful) wedding on Brooklyn Bride.

If you ever decide to swing by our new studio to say hello, it would be a good idea to bring a bag of dog treats with you — we have a very dangerous watch dog on the premises. His name is Murphy and while he only weighs eight and a half pounds, let me tell you: that is eight and a half pounds of PURE MORKIE STEEL.

Our safety is Murphy's first priority. If he’s not patrolling the hallways you can usually find him sleeping in Maggie’s office or in the basement doing tricks for a snack.

That said, please be advised that any visit to our new studio without treats could be disastrous.

28 January 2009

Thanks to one of my daily reads, decor8, I just found out about a great new design magazine, Uppercase. The first issue will drop in April and by the looks of the cover, I already want it. (See? I told you I always judge a book by its cover! This goes for magazines, too.)

Being the letterpress printer around here definitely has its perks. When I am off the clock my wonderful boss allows me to have a little fun with the presses and sometimes do favors for people I like... I spent the past few week nights playing around with chipboard and a heart die for Trish Anderson and Maureen Walsh of Domestic Construction; a multi-disciplinary design studio specializing in interiors, environments and one of a kind fashion and home products. Maureen just happens to be my sister, and Trish is a mutual friend that we met in the SCAD Fibers department.

When you check out their website, make SURE to watch the stop motion video! It was made by Maria Gigante, Maureen's (and mine) childhood babysitter. She more than had her hands full watching all six kids in the family, and kept us entertained with things like clay, embroidery floss, markers, and paper mache. Now she is making films...

Isn't it funny how the "little" things stick with you? And even more so, how those seemingly small and simple things mean so many different things to different people? Who would've thought that a person could be so affected by the wallpaper in their mother's laundry room, or the pale pink and platinum Singer she sewed with; the way that their grandfather stored loose screws in tiny mason jars, and the babysitter who showed them the worth of glue covered hands? I cannot imagine growing up any other way...

{ photos courtesy of Domestic Construction }

They have my other dream job. I know for a fact that there are quite a
few people who would love to be in their strange and wonderful shoes,
but very few possess the intelligence and talent that Trish and Maureen
have to make their love of fabric, stitchery, pattern, and things
discarded, into a successful business. They grew up surrounded by
makers and creative people; exposed to anything and everything from
painting to carpet manufacturing, sewing to commercial construction...
Looking at the body of their work, it is pretty obvious that what they
do is in their bloodline(s).

If you're a regular reader of design blogs, you may have run across a post or two about Domestic Construction and the walls they created for Spacecraft, the bathroom they transformed for Boneshakers, or their ted lights — made from vintage teacups and glassware scavenged from thrift stores located anywhere from Cleveland to Dalton, GA.

The two pictures on the bottom left show their new business cards (a 2 color, double sided print on chip board) and the future packaging for their ted lights (1 color logo, along with a brief description of the product and their business. The hearts were die cut into the sides to allow the individuality of the cup to show through — every light is unique!)

Domestic Construction was nominated for Daily Candy's Sweetest Thing of 2008. The winners will be announced this evening — I'd tell them "good luck", but whatever tonight's outcome, I can surely and absolutely say that they don't need it.

27 January 2009

The dolls (and Chris) know me as the baking queen. My espresso brownies are deadly and my chocolate chip cookies are... well... AMAZING! But since I will be a bride in less than 3 weeks, all treats of the chocolate/carbohydrate goodness variety are OFF LIMITS. And while I am perfectly happy to bake for others... I still need to bake them myself, which always means sampling a few...

I mean, if you had this staring at you at 9pm, could you say no?

The best I can offer you is my sincere promise to resume baking copious amounts of delicious goodness as soon as I become a married woman.

26 January 2009

Clear blue ocean, sand beneath my toes, not a cloud in the sky... this is what most brides imagine when they plan their ultimate destination wedding. Well, most brides... but not me. While I gave it some serious thought, at the end of the day I decided that the destination for so many others would not be the one for me. That's right: I will be married in the snow.

Imagine, just for a moment, the clean crisp air, the white peaks surrounding you, and tiny snowflakes hitting your nose when you kiss your husband for the very first time.

Now, I certainly have to consider things that no other bride does. What type of jacket do I wear? Do they make wedding “boots”? How do I keep my hands warm? Should I buy long underwear? Do I even wear a dress???

As of now I still have two and a half weeks to make those difficult decisions — but whatever I choose — I know that this will be MY ultimate destination wedding...

I know we were all taught never to judge a book by it's cover... but where's the fun in that? I have always judged books by their cover design (which was probably my first introduction to the impact of graphic design at an early age). Book stores have always been one of my favorite places to go to get inspired. I recently came upon The Book Cover Archive, which has over 900 images of book cover designs to drool over.

See one that particularly tickles your fancy? Click on it to see a larger image and get more information.

09 January 2009

i've been thinking lately about how much i just love coffee. i need it. and on the days i try to fool myself to think i don't, well those days are usually not good ones.

this christmas i went a little crazy and bought a tassimo coffee maker that i think its way cool. it makes lattes and caps and wowsers, it even does it for me. now that is sheer convenience in my world of being a mom and a business owner, and leading a generally nonstop life. i'm also a big fan of the little keurigs as well, i splurged a year ago, (back in the day when splurging was allowed around here), and got one for the office that all of the dolls sure do love.

its always been a big dream of mine to own a coffee shop, and i think often of how much i love the atmosphere of a cute and homey place that you can go and chat with friends, find dogs chilling out, or read the latest, and listen to great tunes. since my hands are full enough with our two lovely businesses, i don't think i will own my own coffee shop in this lifetime, but i sure do like to visit this one. one shot coffee in the perfectly cute and growing little neighborhood of northern liberties in philly has become part of my routine when i am in the city. every time you walk in there, its like home. friendly, artsy people are everywhere and there is never a day without a pooch in there. thankfully we're still allowed back after my monster great dane puppy, clark knocked a plate of muffins on the floor, broke a plate, and ate a cherry turnover off the counter. needless to say, he is also, a big fan of this place.

{ photos courtesy of http://www.myspace.com/1shotcoffee }

melissa has done a fantastic job with the place and we just love it there. my favorite has got to be a skinny vanilla latte and a will's bagel, with honey and almonds. amazing.

being an artist, i stumbled upon something known in the java world as 'coffee art' - how cool is this??? i mean who wouldn't want to order a latte and have a monkey face in it. that just makes me smile. in all the hustle and bustle of daily life, its the little things in life that keep us going. here are some more fab designs on found compliments of http://www.weirdomatic.com/coffee-art.html

if you're ever in no libs, take a trip to 'the walk' and check out this
cute little place, and of course, you cant leave there without walking
next door to the fabu brown betty's. i have yet to taste a better cupcake!!

wow - and then... i found this amazing cool site that makes art using coffee, these rock. Check out this fabulous "Coffee_Personalities_Poster"

{ photos courtesy of http://www.justcoffeeart.com }

ok so now thats it's um 2 pm, i think i'll go grab a cup and start working on some sweet logo projects! happy friday!